NEARLY THREE years since the British-era Carnac bridge was razed, the new bridge is likely to be opened by next week, with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) set to conduct the load test to ascertain the stability and safety of the structure on Friday.
On Tuesday, senior civic officials said that civil works on the project are completed with the final touches ranging from installation of street lights to direction signages slated to be executed over a period of next 2-3 days.
Since its establishment in 1922, the Carnac bridge served as a crucial east-west connector, providing direct access for vehicles heading to P’D Mello Road.
Like many other British-era bridges, it passes over the Central railway tracks. In 2022, the century-old connector was demolished after a structural audit declared it unsafe.
As a part of the works, the civic body, along with the Central Railways, carried out the shifting of the 550 metric tonnes iron beam on the southbound and the northbound arms by January 30, following which the beams were installed.
The lowering of the beams paved the way for the launch of the phase-wise works ranging from foundation to asphalting of the roads in February.
Even as the construction works were hit by a delay of nearly 15 days owing to the delayed arrival of the girders, the civic officials on Tuesday said that all works on the project have now been concluded.
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During the course of an inspection conducted Tuesday morning, officials said that in a bid to meet the deadline, work on the bridge was carried out extensively for a 24-hour period over the past two months.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) said, “All the civil works related to launching of girders and construction of roads have been finished. Only finishing works, like installation of street lights and signages, are remaining, and these works will be finished in the next 2-3 days.
On June 13, we have planned a load test on the bridge whose results will come within 48 hours. Accordingly, on June 15, we will take a call on when to open the bridge for traffic movement.”
After procuring the load test certificate, the final date for the opening of the bridge will be ascertained after consultation with experts from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) and the traffic police.
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Even as the carriageway is slated for opening soon, BMC maintained that the staircase will be opened after the monsoon as the pending work on the west-side of the road will be completed after rain concludes. While the old bridge catered to two-lane traffic, the new bridge will consist of four vehicular lanes, facilitating twice the vehicular flow and smoother movement. Constructed at an overall cost of 70 crore, the redeveloped structure is 328-metres long of which 70 metre passes over the railway portion.
